Tag: Duff McKagan

'The Life, Blood And Rhythm Of Randy Castillo,' a rock documentary produced by Cinema 1 Film & FX and 18 Lights Pictures has been selected to open the Red Nation Film Festival in Beverly Hills, CA. on November 4th.

'The Life, Blood And Rhythm Of Randy Castillo' is the story of the late, legendary drummer who played with Ozzy Osborne, Motley Crue, Lita Ford, and other rock and roll icons of the 1980s and 1990s. The film features superstar interviews, concert footage, home movies and behind-the-scenes video of this bigger-than-life Apache musician whose unshakable passion carried him from the wrong side of the tracks to the top of the charts—only to be taken by cancer at the height of his career. The film is narrated by Queen of Metal, Lita Ford.

“It’s been a magical journey,” said Director Wynn Ponder, “working with Lita and interviewing Randy’s band mates, family and friends, but the real story is about how Randy’s generous spirit never changed, even when his formidable musical talent made him the first internationally famous Apache rock and roll drummer.”

Ponder said, “Randy Castillo was that rare creature known as a ‘good man,’ a confidante and close friend to many ... compassionate and caring with everyone he met. Some interviewees tell stories of Randy’s supernatural powers, which they attribute to his Native American spirituality.”

Part musical legend, part personal journey and part shamanic mythos, The Life, Blood And Rhythm Of Randy Castillo ultimately reveals a seldom-seen layer of humanity behind the glittered walls of the rock industry. For more go to: www.randycastillomovie.com

The latest edition of Kings Of Chaos will be touring South Africa this December. Returning members Matt Sorum, Gilby Clarke and Duff McKagan will be joined by new additions Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, Billy Gibbons of ZZ TOP, Robin Zander of Cheap Trick and Nuno Bettencourt of Extreme.

Kings Of Chaos plays bandmembers' greatest hits, as well as other iconic rock classics. They will perform at Sun City Superbowl on Saturday, November 29 and at Grand West's Grand Arena in Cape Town on Wednesday, December 3. Tickets are on sale now. Get more info at: www.kingsofchaosband.com

Duff McKagan will rejoin his former band Guns N' Roses for five shows in South America. McKagan will fill in for bassist Tommy Stinson, who will be touring with The Replacements during that time. Stinson says this is McKagan's way of being a "good buddy" to leader Axl Rose.

"I had those Replacement shows come up the same time the (South American) tour came up, and it got to be a scheduling issue right out of the gate," Stinson told Billboard. "I didn't want to fuck anyone up in Guns by saying, 'Hey, I can't do this tour' or anything like that. Luckily someone was able to reach out to Duff and he was amenable to the idea and was into doing it. It's Duff being the kind of good sport he is, trying to help Axl (Rose) out. So I'm like, 'Thanks dude, for covering my ass on this one.' I think people are gonna be really stoked about it. It's gonna be fun for everyone."

Stinson said McKagan sat in for band rehearsals in Los Angeles last month, and talked about the relationship between Axl and Duff: "I don't know that Duff and Axl ever even had bad blood. I don't really know the whole story. But he came up and played with us a couple years back, and they got along great. Whatever their history is, they're certainly fine now -- I means, as fine as you can be after knowing someone for 30-plus years."

"He's (Duff) a fucking great bass player. It's gonna be a breeze. The only bummer is I don't get to see one of the shows he plays, especially after playing his fucking parts for 17 years. It would be interesting to see how he plays them. There's a couple things I could use some pointers on."

A member of Guns N' Roses from 1985 to 1993, McKagan told Billboard, "It's pretty great to play these songs again, and looking forward to playing some gigs with my pal again. South America is always a radical place for rock n roll...and I'm honored to be doing this thing, in that place."

Guns N' Roses will tour with Duff starting April 6 in Buenos Aires, Argentina and continue with shows in Asuncion, Paraguay on April 9; La Paz, Bolivia on April 12; Recife, Brazil on April 15; and Fortaleza, Brazil on April 17. GNR opens the tour on Tuesday in Florianapolis, Brazil, and also plays April 3 in Porto Alegre, Brazil, with Stinson. GNR will be back in the states playing at the Rock on the Range festival on May 13 in Columbus, Ohio, then they start a nine-show residency on May 21 at the The Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel Casino in Las Vegas.

The all-star band that many have waited to make their U.S. debut, Kings Of Chaos, will finally do so on November 18 at Avalon Hollywood in Los Angeles, California. The event is a benefit for Ric O'Barry's Dolphin Project, an international organization dedicated to restoring freedom for all captive dolphins and whales. The amzig lineup of musicians that are part of the touring band include Glenn Hughes (Black Country Communion, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Trapeze), former Guns N' Roses members Matt Sorum, Slash and Duff McKagan, Corey Taylor (Slipknot, Stone Sour) and Steve Stevens (Billy Idol, Atomic Playboys)

Kings Of Chaos perform the greatest hits of the members careers. The one-night-only benefit concert event, billed as “Tokyo Celebrates The Dolphin,” will be the group’s only North American performance in 2013.

“This is a rehearsal for the BIG one. We plan on taking ‘Tokyo Celebrates the Dolphin’ to Japan,” says Ric O’Barry, whose life and work was featured in the Academy Award-winning film The Cove. “We’ll add a few Japanese friends to our lineup and rock the socks off Tokyo. There isn’t a better way to bring Westerners and Japanese people together than rock and roll and the world should also know about the wonderful relationship between Japanese people and dolphins in the Tokyo Islands,” added O'Barry. “Dolphins are respected and protected in this part of Japan. It's the opposite of Taiji, but very few people know about it. ‘Tokyo Celebrates the Dolphin’ will hopefully change this by bringing positive, international media attention to what is right about Japan.”

"I'm thrilled to bring a bunch of superstars together for a fun night with fans," adds Matt Sorum, who has also played with Velvet Revolver. "The main thing is to keep creating awareness for the Dolphin Project and everyone involved."

After firing vocalist Scott Weiland from Stone Temple Pilots this past February, guitarist Dean DeLeo, bassist Robert DeLeo and drummer Eric Kretz have now announced their new singer and debuted the new lineup at this past weekend at KROQ's anual Weenie Roast in Los Angeles. The new vocalist filling the shoes is none other than Chester Bennington of Linkin Park!

This past Saturday (May 18), the band played a 40-minute set performing well known Stone Temple Pilot tracks and premiered a new song, "Out Of Time," the group's first track since 2010. By the sounds of it, Bennington will be a perfect fit for the new STP. Get the recorded version of "Out Of Time" as a free download here: www.downloads.radio.com/stone-temple-pilots

"Chester has a one-of-a-kind voice that we've admired for a long time," says guitarist Dean DeLeo in a press release. "We know Linkin Park will always be his priority, but we thought it would be cool to try something together. We managed to find the time to record a song and we're all really happy with the result."

"I’ve loved STP since I was 13 years old and they’ve had a huge influence on me," explained Bennington. "When the opportunity came up to do something creative with them, I jumped at the chance. The guys in Linkin Park have been incredibly supportive of me undertaking this project while I’ve continued to work on new music with LP."

The band are slated to perform at Club Nokia in Los Angeles on May 30 for the MusiCares MAP Fund Benefit Concert, which will be honoring Bennington and legendary skateboarder, surfer and musician Tony Alva. The event will raise funds For MusiCares' Addiction Recovery Services. Slash, Duff McKagan, Tony Alva's Chicken Noodle Project, Ida Maria and presenters Anthony Kiedis, Mike Shinoda and Andy Dick will also be a part of the show. Get tickets and more details on the show here: www.axs.com/events